In Levels 7 and 8, the curriculum focuses on developing the knowledge, skills and understanding to analyse thinking and the selection and application of a range of techniques to support effective thinking. Students learn strategies to assist them synthesise their thinking. Students develop an understanding that flexibility in thinking is often required and that certainty in thinking can be influenced by a range of factors.
By the end of Level 8, students prioritise the elements of a question and justify their selection. Students demonstrate flexibility in thinking by using a range of techniques in order to repurpose existing ideas or solutions to meet needs in new contexts.
Students explain different ways to settle matters of fact and matters of value and issues concerned with these. They explain and apply a range of techniques to test the strength of arguments.
Students use a range of strategies to represent ideas and explain and justify thinking processes to others. They evaluate the effectiveness of a range of learning strategies and select strategies that best meet the requirements of a task. Students independently segment problems into discrete stages, synthesise new knowledge at intermediate stages during problem-solving and develop and apply criteria to assess ideas, proposals and emerging thinking.
In Levels 7 and 8, students communicate with peers, teachers, individuals, groups and community members in a range of face-to-face and online/virtual environments. They experience learning in both familiar and unfamiliar contexts that relate to the school curriculum, local community, regional and global contexts.
Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They listen to, read, view...
In Levels 7 and 8, students communicate with peers, teachers, individuals, groups and community members in a range of face-to-face and online/virtual environments. They experience learning in both familiar and unfamiliar contexts that relate to the school curriculum, local community, regional and global contexts.
Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They listen to, read, view, interpret, evaluate and perform a range of spoken, written and multimodal texts in which the primary purpose is aesthetic, as well as texts designed to inform and persuade. These include various types of media texts including newspapers, magazines and digital texts, early adolescent novels, non-fiction, poetry and dramatic performances. Students develop their understanding of how texts, including media texts, are influenced by context, purpose and audience.
Literary texts that support and extend students in Levels 7 and 8 as independent readers are drawn from a range of realistic, fantasy, speculative fiction and historical genres and involve some challenging and unpredictable plot sequences and a range of non-stereotypical characters. These texts explore themes of interpersonal relationships and ethical dilemmas within real-world and fictional settings and represent a variety of perspectives. Informative texts present technical and content information from various sources about specialised topics. Text structures are more complex including chapters, headings and subheadings, tables of contents, indexes and glossaries. Language features include successive complex sentences with embedded clauses, unfamiliar technical vocabulary, figurative and rhetorical language, and information supported by various types of graphics presented in visual form.
Students create a range of imaginative, informative and persuasive types of texts, for example narratives, procedures, performances, reports and discussions, and are beginning to create literary analyses and transformations of texts.
By the end of Level 7, students understand how text structures can influence the complexity of a text and are dependent on audience, purpose and context. They demonstrate understanding of how the choice of language features, images and vocabulary affects meaning. They explain issues and ideas from a variety of sources, analysing supporting evidence and implied meaning. They select specific details from texts to develop their own response, recognising that texts reflect different viewpoints.
Students understand how the selection of a variety of language features can influence an audience. They understand how to draw on personal knowledge, textual analysis and other sources to express or challenge a point of view. They create texts showing how language features, text structures, and images from other texts can be combined for effect. They create structured and coherent texts for a range of purposes and audiences. When creating and editing texts they demonstrate understanding of grammar, use a variety of more specialised vocabulary, use accurate spelling and punctuation.
Students listen for and explain different perspectives in texts. They understand how the selection of a variety of language features can influence an audience. They understand how to draw on personal knowledge, textual analysis and other sources to express or challenge a point of view. They create texts showing how language features and images from other texts can be combined for effect. They create texts structured and coherent texts for a range purposes and audiences. They make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions, using language features to engage the audience.